The Prisoner

in Darkness
The Monthly Monster for October 2017
written by Johnstone Metzger
and illustrated by Nathan Jones
for
Dungeon World
and
Labyrinth Lord
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The Prisoner in Darkness 3

The Tale
Once upon a time, the young wizard Ladrozz was invited to court, so that
he might serve his king. Devoutly loyal, even as an apprentice, he arrived
at the palace bursting with pride. Though few considered him of much
importance there, he never failed to fulfill his duties. There were times,
however, when he questioned his place in the king’s house, even wondering
if he might be of more use elsewhere.
But then tragedy fell, like a snapping wolf, upon the kingdom. The
royal princess was beset by some demon of the lower depths. Damned and
possessed, she was proclaimed lost by the other wizards of the court. They
could do nothing. It was Ladrozz alone who devised a solution. His arcane
battle with the demon was long and hard, but in the end he triumphed—
and paid a most terrible cost. When the demon was banished, he took the
greater part of Ladrozz with him. The young wizard was left stunted and
doll-like, crippled and misshapen.
The king, so grateful to have his only daughter returned to him, made
Ladrozz his chief arcanist, always by his side to offer council. The princess
married the prince of a neighbouring kingdom soon after, and left to live
with her new husband.
Over the subsequent years, Ladrozz had plenty of time to think about
what he had done, and what it had cost him. He had time to reconsider.
He had paid a price so dear, he thought, and what had he gained by it?
The princess returned every summer to visit her father, and every year she
grew more beautiful in the eyes of Ladrozz. Perched upon the arm of her
prince, she lived a world away from the price he had paid, and continued
to pay every day, for her happiness—and the happiness of her husband.
She should have been his! It was his sacrifice that saved her, it was he who
fought the demon. Why was she given to this stranger instead, like some
prize unearned?
And so the spite and jealousy grew inside of him. It grew until it
bloomed into the urge of treason, and he turned against his king. He was
wrong to do so, of course, for he was not the only wizard at court, and not
even the greatest. He was found out, and banished to a prison made of
darkness, where he dwells to this day, plotting and scheming his release.
He comes like a spectre out of the shadows and the night, still haunting the
world long after the world he knew has died.
4 The Prisoner in Darkness

The Catch
A perfect fairy tale of a story, is it not? A fable of loyalty and regret, where
jealousy turns to treasonous spite and is justly punished. But impossible, all
the same. For the king Ladrozz served was an Ardoussarlian king, and there
is no innocence not born dead in that cursed line.
When have these kings of the north ever asked for anything? They took
what they wanted, when they wanted it, always. They commanded terror
and fear far better than they did loyalty, and love least of all. To think that
a servant might sacrifice anything for them out of selfless reverence is to
believe in nonsense and lies.
The Ardoussarlian records that were lost when their great city fell to
the creeping death have never been recovered, so any clues to the real story
of the life Ladrozz led before his imprisonment upon a plane of elemental
shadows must now come from him—and he will speak any lie he has to in
order to escape.

The Faceless Regents

There is a significant lacuna in Ardoussarlian history, where the records
of five or six generations of Ardoussarlian kings were destroyed by their
successors. Ladrozz has claimed to know details about more than one of
these kings, though it is clear they predate his birth.

Torvin VII Mirosin

When Kharkhas Iqqbal Mirosin ascended to the throne, he took the name
Torvin, to signal his greatness, and erased several of his predecessors from
the history books. The previous six of his name are mostly figures of legend,
but he had statues of them erected all over the kingdom so he could claim
direct descent from them.
What Ladrozz knows about this Torvin could have come from books
and stories, although he ruled for almost five decades, and not one of his
successors can boast as much. So it is possible that the vile gnome was born,
and even trained as a sorcerer, during this Torvin’s time.

Torvin VIII Mirosin

The son of the previous Torvin may be the king that Ladrozz served, if the
fairy tale has any substance to it at all. He died without any male heirs, and
thus the Mirosin Dynasty came to an end. Ladrozz seems to know about the
previous Torvin’s numerous children and how they died.
Labyrinth Lord Version 5

Istiol II Harsinos
After fighting constant, bloody wars to expand the kingdom of Ardoussarlis
for over a decade, Istiol ascended the throne, courtesy of his wife being
Torvin VIII’s only surviving child, beginning the Harsinos Dynasty. Was he
the prince who profited so much from Ladrozz’s sacrifice? There is a single
surviving source that claims Istiol was called the “Crippler of Men,” and
that he devoured the flesh of their bodies without carving it off them first.
Ladrozz is not eager to speak of this king, though whether it is because
of the bride he felt was his or because his physical state was no sacrifice,
but a deliberate act done by this “Crippler,” is hard to determine. Perhaps
Ladrozz will take this secret to the grave—if he ever gets there.

Torvin IX Harsinos
And yet, Ladrozz also knows who the ninth Torvin was. Was he able to
observe the world from his prison of shadows, to see this dynasty he loathed
so much prosper and flourish? He seems to have no knowledge of this
dynasty’s demise at the hands of King Geddorah and the Creeping Death,
so he cannot have had a window into his former homeland for very long.
Perhaps this legend is some tale from an earlier time that was attached to
Ladrozz, either by mistake or malice? Perhaps it was Torvin IX who reigned
when he was cast into shadows, in a time when the faceless regents had not
yet all been erased?

Ladrozz the Vile Gnome 200XP

7th level magic-user (blood caster).
Evil, AC Shield, HD 7*, Morale 0, Move 60’ (20’), Save M7, Size Small,
Surprise -1. Ch 10, Co 10, De 8, In 18, St 4, Wi 16.
1 spell per round or summon monster.
monster
Ladrozz has 1d10 random spells memorized when he appears. He cannot be
affected by anything on the material plane except for magic, if it is able to
touch his projected senses or reach into his prison of darkness. Nor can he
interact with anything physically.

When Ladrozz summons a monster, it takes 1d4 rounds to grow out of his
forehead. Unlike him, it becomes part of the material world, or whatever
plane he is projecting himself onto at the time. He loses 1d4 points of
Constitution temporarily each time he does this, unless he can get someone
to sacrifice their own blood in place of his. These points return at a rate of 1
per year that elapses on Earth.
6 Dungeon World Version

Ladrozz the Vile Gnome 16 HP

Intelligent, Magical, Small, Solitary, Stealthy.
Special Qualities: Blood caster, Immortal, Imprisoned in darkness.
In his physical form, Ladrozz is severely crippled. His body is small, his limbs
are weak, his legs are stunted. Even his hearing is poor, though his eyesight
is at least better than average. His voice is high and whining. It is easy to
dislike him. The primary incentive he can offer those who would help him
is the monsters he summons and commands. They can threaten, or they can
perform favours—especially violent favours.
Instinct: To escape his imprisonment.
Attacks:
• Confusion spell (stun damage; near).
Moves:
• See through time, space, and flesh with arcane vision.
• Summon a monster (that grows from his forehead).
• Use warm blood to power a magical curse or spell.
• Whisper promises and pleas for help.
Tactics:
If they can help to free him: Offer them things: ancient and forbidden
knowledge, magical training, the destruction of their rivals. But get
them to work towards freedom first.
If they cannot: Coerce them into giving up their blood so it can be used in
magical rituals.
Weaknesses:
Though he is an accomplished mage, the way Ladrozz achieves his most
significant arcane effects is through the sacrifice of blood. Now that his body
is stunted and crippled, he has only so much of his own he can use. In order
to escape his prison—or even have a direct and meaningful impact on the
world outside his prison—he requires a sacrifice of someone else’s blood.
Sometimes, simply letting a monster loose is enough to do this, provided he
has enough of his own blood to summon one in the first place. But mostly,
he is dependent on blood shed by those he can somehow connive into doing
his bidding.
The Prisoner in Darkness 7

The Jail of Shadows

Inside this elemental plane of darkness—or whatever light-averse substance
it is made of—Ladrozz does not age or grow hungry, and his mind is slowed
to a crawl. He is held in stasis, more or less, but his ability to reach out
to the rest of the universe through magic is not completely neutralized.
How this prison’s substance functions is unknown and unstudied, at least
by terrestrial wizards. The court sorcerer who put Ladrozz here probably
had some variation of the famous forlorn encystment in mind. The
Ardoussarlians were never masters of tangible darkness, no matter how
interested their villainous sovereigns might have been in such arts.

A Mournful Mirror
Over time, Ladrozz has concocted various schemes he hopes will eventually
lead to his escape. In Mournhaven, first years at Nornfell University
inevitably hear the tale of Shadowman. If you say his name five times into a
mirror in the old alchemical building, now mostly shuttered and barely even
used for storage, the Shadowman appears from out of the darkness—a vile
gnome and summoner of monsters.
No one knows exactly which mirror, though, and most are too afraid
to break in so they can find out. There are several rooms that have been
bricked up because of historical murders, however, and that information is
easily found in the school’s records. Of course, the stories all end with those
who call him discovering the price they must pay is too high, but bullied
students can’t help but fantasize: what if it were true?

The Sandstone of Saturn

Much further away, Ladrozz has established another possible point of
escape, in the dreamlands of Saturn. Beneath a sandstone monolith, at
the heart of an ancient citadel built by the serpent folk, lies a gate between
worlds. This gate can give Ladrozz his freedom, but only temporarily, and
only if the monolith is powered by a wizard on the other side. There have
been those, over the centuries, who have allowed him purchase on Saturn
in exchange for magical knowledge, but none have been able to free him for
good. So far, that is.
Ladrozz has initiated similar schemes in other places, but in none
of them has he been able to physically instantiate himself outside of his
prison. He has been able to appear and communicate or use magic, but
never interact. The monsters he can summon, on the other hand, do not
share this limitation.